Fat Frog Diary

 Piccalilli is pretty darn old. I was able to trace this recipe back at least 100 years. It's probably much older than that, since it's a way to preserve vegetables from the garden in a "pickle", which is the easiest type of preservation method, requiring no special equipment other than good quality preserving jars and lids. However, I do recommend picking up a set of canning tools for safety's sake.  The recipe below is from a Kerr Bottle Company preserving book from the early part of the 20th century.  Terms to Know:  A peck is 8 dry quarts or 16 pints. Four pecks make a bushel.  Gherkins are a smaller variety of cucumber, also called a "pickling cucumber." They can be nubby-skinned. They are easy to grow, and many gardeners have them in large numbers because they are easy to pickle.  Ingredients:  8 quarts fresh green tomatoes 1-quart large pickling cucumbers (aka gherkins) 2 green peppers 4 onions 1 cup salt  1 cup sugar 1 T. whole peppercorns...

​ YOU SHOULD ADD A STRAWBALE OR TWO TO YOUR GARDEN If your ground is too hard to work, you end up getting a late start, or if you just don't feel like cleaning up in the garden, you might want to look into getting a few Straw Bales for your Spring/Summer or even Fall Garden.  If you haven't tried this method, you might want to try it out on at least a part of your Garden. The ability to grow in a smaller space, no digging involved, and much less problems with insect pests is making more Families switch at least part of their Gardens over to Straw Bales. Here is some info on this gardening method from Joel Karsten.  Straw Bale Gardening is simply a different type of container gardening. The main difference is that the container is actually the straw bale itself, held together with two or three strings, the outside crust of the bale serves as the container. Once the straw inside the bale begins to decompose, the straw becomes "conditioned" and ready to plant. The step-b...

 Ever watched those gardening shows where they use bags of expensive soil mix and fertilizer add-ins? Can you spot the sponsors? Yeah, those expensive soil mixes and fertilizer manufacturers. I'm too cheap for that.  Here's my formula. Note that it's measured in "PARTS" not ounces, pounds, cubic meters, or whatever. I use a bucket. I recommend using sunglasses and gloves. Perlite is very dusty and gets in your eyes. Gloves just protect your hands and manicure.  The links included are simply to give you an idea of cost and size available, not necessarily a recommendation to buy that product.  3 parts peat moss  Fafard Sphagnum Peat Moss 3Cf Organic Peat Moss Moisture Control in the Soil Amendments department at Lowes.com 3 parts compost  Black Kow 1 Cubic Foot Organic Compost and Manure Provides Organic Nutrients in the Soil Amendments department at Lowes.com 1 part perlite.  Arctic Gro 4-cu ft Organic Perlite Improves Soil Structure in the Soil Amendme...

  (29) How To Build a RAISED BED Garden-Grow Tons of Vegetables Pot Plants in EASY Tote METHOD Small Spaces - YouTube A couple of years ago (I think) I saw this video and was inspired to try this innovative and relatively cheap technique for having a raised bed garden that was easier on someone who couldn't crouch or kneel to weed. I had tried with limited success to have raised bed gardens. Most at least gave me a few delighted moments of harvesting food for our tables wherever we lived.  But that was the problem. We moved a lot. We never staying in one location for very long, and most raised beds can't be moved easily. I'd finally get the soil nice and black and...(sigh) we'd move away.  This garden can be moved! If your zucchini is getting too much sun (or not enough) then you can put the tote in the wheelbarrow and move it. In fact, you should keep some soil in each tote, even if you aren't planting in it yet. The soil keeps the tote moist and pliable. If you...

https://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/uses-for-household-borax/   I'm giving this lady full credit! We all know about baking soda and how many wonderful things it can do, but borax equals or exceeds it. I've made the laundry soap and found it beyond excellent. I've used it to scrub delicate china without removing the artwork, and I knew it could do other things but I was stunned by the advice from a friend to try it for an insect infestation. Little brown cockroaches had invaded my home from a grocery bag kept a little too long, and bug spray just wasn't doing the job. Not only was it expensive, I was tired of inhaling the poison while I wielded the Raid spray like a weapon. Not the way I want to enjoy my coffee in the morning. I live in Florida, and bugs are a constant issue. We have cockroaches the size of your thumb we term "palmetto bugs" but let's not mince words. They are giant flying cockroaches you have to kill with a hammer. No, I'm not k...

Now that the holidays are behind us, we can again focus on a more outward look at how we as responsible human beings may positively affect our world. Today I focus on our 7 th Principle, "Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part." When I hear those words, I think of one of our major crises affecting our very existence: Climate Change. We can vote, we can go to rallies, and we can "vote with our wallet, but the simplest and easiest thing we can do is grow our own food (at least in part.) Did you may a New Year's Resolution to eat healthier or lose a few pounds?   No matter how small your dwelling, no matter how poor your circumstances, you can grow a garden using the Square Foot Gardening (SFG) technique. Bonus: It's cheaper and easier than row gardening! I've done it in North Carolina and Colorado as well as my current home in Florida. It can be done anywhere, even an apartment balcony. Instead of long rows and much wasted s...

My grandfather was born and raised during the Great Depression. Consequently, he was one of those incredibly frugal men who lived well below his income because he "didn't need much." He drove a POS car until it became a classic, then an antique, then he sold it for ten times what he'd bought it for. He even had his own garden until he was too old to tend it properly, but his neighbors all had gardens and felt sorry for the lonely old widower and brought him extras from their gardens for free! When he died, he left my Mom a small fortune. One thing grandpa did very well was save money on food. He rarely threw anything out. He composted his organic garbage right back into his garden, washed out his cans and took them to a steel mill that happily bought all his cans long before "recycling" was even a word. Even his soups were recycled. Grandpa kept several containers stacked neatly in his freezer. Three were for cooked meats he shaved off the bones and save...

I made a few changes to this recipe, I admit. First off, I used cut up cooked chicken from my stash of leftovers instead of the expensive boneless skinless chicken breasts. I did manage to find andouille sausage, but it wouldn't hurt my feelings if I had to substitute another kind. This is a Cajun recipe, and they're famous for making do with what they have. My chicken broth was homemade, and you don't get much more "reduced sodium" than that. (That's what I do with all those leftover bits like the pointy wing tips, necks no one wants, and the occasional "sale meat" that is a bargain only if you stew it to death. Grin) Also, here's a little trick to gladden the heart of any cook-- You can make your rice in the slow cooker too! Just use the "converted" rice (I use Uncle Ben's) and it cooks up just fine. (This is why I have two crock pots, and I'm thinking about getting another.) I'll make the jambalaya in the big pot, a...

In the same way as my comments on Feb 4 concerning mayonnaise, the same thing has happened in the salad dressing market. The so-called "diet" dressings can be higher in sugar and carbs because they're supposed to be lower in fat. Yet at the same time, the "regular" dressings are so loaded with chemicals and preservatives as well as carbs, the choices are very limited unless you like vinaigrettes. I happen to like creamy dressings, though I've learned that dipping my fork into a small cup of 2 T of dressing (average serving size on bottled dressings) and then stabbing a forkload of salad means I get a much tastier mouthful than pouring the dressing over the top and hoping it's still around when I get to the last fork full. Imagine having fresh dressings to dip your veggies into, and I don't mean just for a bowl of salad. Imagine taking a small sealed container of this with some celery, green pepper strips, and fresh broccoli when you need a snack. Y...

This recipe comes from the Food Network and Giada De Laurentis. They did not provide a calorie or carb count, so I made a guess at approximately 93 calories and 10 carbs per serving. I also substituted sour cream for the creme fraiche. (Sorry, Giada honey, not all of us are rich.) Also, I HIGHLY recommend you grind up the rosemary extra, extra fine, especially if you have to use the dried version like I did. Picking rosemary out of your teeth is never a cool look.

Even I am stunned by the ingenuity of these garden ideas. I'm going to try some! http://green.yahoo.com/blog/greenpicks/251/grow-your-own-food-in-a-bag-in-a-truck-anywhere.html Tin Cans? How about those big-ass coffee "cans" made of plastic I have by the ton? I'm so trying this. Lena